@All,
The big brother, *DSTV* has now Introduced a Digital Terrestrial TV Service under the DVB-T2 standard. The service is being rolled out in a number of countries.

Check website on: http://www.gotvafrica.com .

The decoder goes for around USD62 (inclusive of 3 months subscription); followed by monthly subscription of USD6 for up to 21 channels including: eTV Africa; DayStar; Discovery World; Disney Junior; E! Entertainment; MagicWorld; Africa Magic Swahili; Africamagic +; Al Jazeera; Channel O; Nickelodeon; One Gospel; Sony Max; Style; TBN; BBC; Select Sport (Supersport).

Local country TV channels are expected to be FTA.
Cheers.

@ Boderline, Swordswifter,
Check KISS TV website at: _www.kisstv.co.ke_. Have a great Weekend.

@All,
Attention: To anyone using a DSD1110 Irdeto decoder, be warned that this week, the owner ( DS-Thief) is sending an “Over The Air” upgrade which dissables/blocks that function that enables you to watch FTA transponders beamed on W7 and W4 (such as Free2view’s 12437-H-23437-3/4; and the new ‘Russia Today’ TP). Although you can input the TPs, you wont be able to watch them on that decoder like before! In addition, you cannot input any Symbolrate less than 5 digits. When you see a flashing window asking you to upgrade, just ignore! What a rigid decoder!! Otherwise just use your MPEG4-FTA decoder. FTA will live forever! Goodday.

@Candymann,

Candymann:

@Williams85
Tps for Russia Today on W4/W7 >>> freq 11388, H, and SR 29999

Is this TP an MPEG2 or MPEG4? Do you know its FEC (e.g. 3/4)? Some decoders such as DSD1110 will require this input. Thanks.

@Kungu,
What is your location in Kenya? Are you able to receive Badr4 or W2A? What dish size do you use for both? You may drop me an email at: nash.namubich_at_gmail.com

@All,
Do you have a C-Band dish? Check Muvi-Tv and Africa-Unite Tv (both FTA) from Zambia on 3993-H-5000, FEC2/3; MPEG-4, DVB-S2 on: Amos 5i at 17.0°E. Strong Africa C-Band Beam: _http://www.lyngsat-maps.com/maps/amos5i_africa.html_. For More TPs: _http://www.lyngsat.com/amos5i.html_

@All,
Try this latest satellite: Apstar 2R at 76.5°E. (Also known as Telstar 10?) Check for C-Band Tps on _http://www.lyngsat.com/apstar2r.html_. Footprint covers Africa. Check map at
_http://www.apstar.com/apt_apstar/pic2r.asp_ and _http://www.lyngsat-maps.com/t10.html_. Goodday.

@Ilish,

Ilish:

@ALL,The satellite where etv and etv africa are is INTEL 802 at 33.0e.Try it and you wont regret.Viva mpeg4 and FTA for life.

The beam for this bird is directed to Eastern Africa. However, members from other locations may confirm whether they can receive it. You never know, often the coverage is wider than what they declare on _Lyngsat_ and other sites. Please share with us the TP and other parameters for the etv and etv-africa; , or email to me at nash.namubich@gmail.com if unable to share on the forum.
I used to receive KBC, K24 and Family-TV on INTEL 802 at 33.0e before they moved to NSS 12 at 57.0°E (at 11026-H-8681, FEC3/4, MPEG2). The NSS beam covers most of Africa (check the "east Africa beam" on _http://www.ses-worldskies.com/worldskies/satellites/020_nss-fleet/nss-12/Coverage_Maps/index.php_). The beam covers countries all the way from Zimbabwe, Zambia, zaire, egypt, Chad, etc. Try it ! Might be able to get it at Lagos with a 90cm? Cheers.

@All,
Confirm if the following TP is receivable at your location: 11638 H 27500, DVB-S2/MPEG-4 on W2A at 10.0°E: Télé Mayotte; Antenne Réunion; France 24 Français; France 2; France 3 Sat; France 4; France 5; Arte Français; France Ô; France 2; Arte Français; France Ô.
Also: New channels such as God-TV Africa on 11477 H 20000 at Telstar 11N at 37.6°W

@Rextab,
Please list the frequency, symbol rate and Polarity for the channels you picked; and whether you are using an MPEG2 or MPEG4 decoder. Cheers.

Ameboperoo:

I think the issue of East or West direction is what has been mentioned above. Now with offset dishes, you do not have to face the dish to the sat. So whether you face east west south or north, provided your elevation is near zero and your lnb skew is correct. It also depends on your location too. The satellite has to be almost directly over you and you must be close 2 the Equator.

@All,
I live at the following location: 1° 16' S, 36° 48' E; and for me, tracking the W4/7 at 36East is the easiest thing on earth. The bird is located directly above us. What is interesting to note is that the off-set dish can face any direction and you will still hit ‘green’ as long as your LNB skew is correct. You can shoot that bird within 2 minutes! Have a great weekend.

@All,
Check for new channels on Telstar 11N at 37.6W, 10965 V 3300, FEC 5/6, Sub-Saharan Africa Beam. Purple Turtle Communications (_www.purpleturtle.co.za_) is now transmitting 3 religious channels. Also, 11477 H 20000, FEC 3/4 is active with 2 other channels.

@bode4real,
That semi-conductor, LM317T, is usually a 'programmable' voltage regulator. It can output various voltages from 1V to 12V for example, depending on input (bias) voltage that is set.

@All,
Goodnews! I am back to FTA satellite since last weekend. Remember I had uninstalled the dishes to change residence? I successfully installed 4 dishes within one hour last saturday: W4/7; PAS-7/10; Sirius4; W3A. All are 65cm Eurostar Dishes with 0.3dB Supermax Ku-Band LNB. Now strategically moving to invest into MPEG4 DVB-S2 Equipment! Keep discovering!

Deleted by Nash-FTA.
Similar to my previous post.

Deleted by Nash-FTA.
Similar to my previous post.

@All,
This is the story behind the new channels appearing on Sirius 4, 12525 V 30000, DVB-S2, MPEG4:

18th March, Johannesburg: TOPTV Launches in South Africa

On Digital Media (ODM) is on the verge of introducing choice, flexibility and affordability to the multi-channel television market in South Africa under its brand of TopTV. With its launch, an exciting world of entertainment will open up to millions of South African viewers.

TopTV will offer subscribers seven pricing options ranging from R99 to R249 per month. Channels will include “Top Movies”, “Top One”, “Top Gospel” and “Top Crime”, as well as a range of international channels; 9 locally developed channels will offer audiences a mix of local and international flavours. For R99 per month, subscribers will have access to over 20 channels, providing coverage of genres, including general entertainment, news, sport, movies and gospel, to name a few. There will also be 34 “new-to-the market” channels, nine music video channels and 25 new music audio services.

TopTV has partnered with media companies from various countries including Germany, Scandinavia, Spain and the UK. In addition, it has secured programming and channels from household names such as Fox, Warner, Disney, CBS, and Discovery, to name a few. On the technology front audiences can be assured of the latest state of the art digital broadcasting technology including MPEG-4 and DVB-S2.

Source: _http://www.ondigitalmedia.co.za_ ; _http://www.lyngsat.com/sirius4.html_

@Prince Paris,
Thanks. Since I changed residence earlier this month, I dismantled my 4 dishes. (See the following link to Season 2 for pictures of my set-up: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-182209.288.html ) So for now I am not connected to any satellite until I install them again. Otherwise, I miss my “daily FTA satellite scan routine”!! The sad thing is - I have less space this time for the dishes!! 

@ Enitan,
Congratulations! We need more people like you in Africa – who can fold up their sleeves, put on ‘Khaki’ and ‘boots’, and get into attempting the impossible. I think that by working as a team, raising some funds and bringing our skills together, members of this forum will one day soon be able to assemble and launch an FTA satellite with 100 Ku-Band TPs! Keep discovering!

@All,
The story behind 26 new channels on W2A:

3 February 2010
STN initiates the distribution services of the new multi channel platform over Africa.
Startimes DTV for Star Technology, China.

STN d.o.o are proud to annouce their new partnership with StarTimes and the successful launch of 17 new channels for Africian Digital (DTV) distribution over the W2A satellite, C band, situated at 10° East.

The C-band payload of 10 transponders provides pan-African coverage, extending to India and parts of Asia as well as Latin America, for broadband and telecommunications services.
STN's partnership with StarTimes is for the distribution of the channels including full monitoring and control of operations services.

STN provides reception of the signals from various satellites and repackages them utilizing the latest DVB-S2/MPEG-4 AVC digital technology.

Source:
_http://www.stn.eu_
_http://www.talksatellite.com/EMEA-A962.htm_
_http://www.lyngsat.com/ew2a.html_

@All,
PAS 7/10: Watch RTNC (Radio Télévision Nationale Congolaise) at the following TP: 12638 H 2590
Also, it is available at the C-Band African beam at Rascom 1 at 2.8°E (Check http://www.flysat.com/rascom1.php and http://www.flysat.com/rascom1-beam.php). New satellite for Africa on both Ku and C-Band?

@Ibaku, All,
GOOD NEWS!!
K24, KBC and TBN-Family TV have officially announced that from 28-02-2010 they are migrating from 11589 H 8680 on Intelsat 802 (32.9 East) to a stronger Transponder 11026 H 8680 on NSS 5/12 (57 East), in order to be able to cover most of SubSaharan Africa and beyond on Ku-Band. The new TP on NSS 5/12 is already active on (I guess Ibaku and others have confirmed this). If you have a 180cm dish with Ku-C Band combined LNB you can also track VOA and others on C-Band beam already on that bird. Go on and shoot down that bird too!

@Ibaku,

Ibaku:

@ALL, 57 degrees east is already active with a ku tp 11025 v 8681 which is carrying channels like k24,kbc, and family channels. @ Nash, i told u !

@Ibaku,
What other channels are you able to receive on that TP? What size of dish are you using? Which areas does the satellite beam cover? Thanks.

@Ibaku,
Correction: The Intelsat 802 satellite is located at 32.9East and not 57East. You will need a dish of probably 8 - 12 ft.

@All,
An Upcoming South African Satellite provider – ‘On Digital Media’ (ODM), _http://www.ondigitalmedia.co.za_ – will soon use Sirius 4 (5 East) to provide up to 50 channels. _http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/66/20113.html_ ; _http://www.ondigitalmedia.co.za/pdf/press_releases/20071127.pdf_. On the technology front, audiences are promised the latest state of the art digital broadcasting technology including MPEG-4, DVB-S2. Viewers will only pay for channels they wish to view. Check: _http://www.tvsa.co.za/default.asp?blogname=news&ArticleID=11634_.

It appears that the giant Telkom South Africa, which had planned to launch a Direct-to-Home service by 2009, changed their plan; foreseeing that such a venture might not be sustainable. Telkom Media decided in early 2009 not to pursue the launch of television services as its parent company Telkom did not believe adequate investment returns could be achieved.

Another provider, ‘Walk-on-Water TV’ (_http://www.wowtv.co.za_) is also planning to offer DTH services soon; _http://www.wowtv.co.za/?q=news/competitors_feedback_

E-Tv, which had also planned a similar satellite service through their ‘E-Sat’ company, changed course to become a ‘content provider’ only; _http://www.techwatch.co.uk/forums/21033-south-africa-announces-satellite-and-cable-broadcasting-licences.html_

@Spacevice, Ibaku,
Maybe TopTV channels (with the SABCs) currently being tested on Sirius are coming from one of the providers mentioned above. One question to you: are they testing on MPEG4 DVB-S2? I tried to scan the TP you provided yesterday (12525V30000), at around 2000Hrs GMT but nothing came up! What decoder are you using? Mine is MPEG2 – DVB !

2010 is certainly the year to monitor as far as DTH and FTA is concerned in Africa, since more providers will seek to launch new services just in time to broadcast the 2010 FIFA matches too! Hot spots could be Sirius, W3A and W7. Keep on Discovering !

@George_D, BUTONEDAY,
Have you tried using the 5m dish to track american satellites such as NSS806 (40.5W); Intelsat 14 (45W); Intelsat 705 (50W); Dish-network on Echostar 3/12 (61.5W)? It would be interesting to find out if your dish can pull down the American birds as well - now that Europe is conquered. Please let us know.

@Candymann,

Candymann:

@ameboperoo
what are the tps for this e channel on sirius? I want to give it a try??

@all
anyone on intel 802 at 33E? What are the directions like? Whats the reference point or closest bird to it?

Use Eutelsat W4/W7 at 36E. You will need to turn the dish only slightly. The dish to receive Intel802 will depend on your location. Could be 90cm - 8ft for sub-saharan Africa.

@BUTONEDAY, Desjam,
Congratulations for taking FTA to another level. Maybe be one of these days you could consider placing a video on ’YouTube’ for the world to learn that something good and Hi-Tech can come from Africa; side-by-side with Mr. Klaus Schumacher’s 8 meter dish in South America!, posted at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0JFP7NFx3s .

By the way, how much in US$ would it cost to assemble the dish: the aluminium sheets for parabolic surface, steel structure, welding costs, cabling, LNBs, labour costs, etc.? Maybe one of these days we could invite you over to East Africa to assembly/install one? Alternatively, you could prepare the parts at your city then we transport them (by cargo plane) from your city to mine for installation work (with you as the installation engineers of course)! Target birds? I am interested in shooting down Nilesat, Hotbird and Astra in East Africa. FTA business could also go international !

I noticed that the dates on your photos are 27/01/2007. Is it camera settings or were the photos taken in 2007? Just a joke.

@George_D,
Those pictures are so enlightening – especially how to cut the scalar professionally to accommodate 3 LNBs. However, (1) during hot weather, what is the possibility of your brackets expanding and loosening hence producing slight shift in the C-band LNBs – then tightening during cold / rainy seasons? (2) Are those clamps made of ‘Stainless steel’? Copper? Aluminium? This will be important in the long term to prevent rust-related issues; (3) Your LNB throats are not covered – I guess Mr. Spider and family of flying creatures might build a home inside there! How do you scare them away? (4) By cutting the center LNB, does it increase sensitivity to the Ku-Band signals in your case? All the same, your setup looks wonderful.

@BUTONEDAY,
Congratulations on your installation.
Please check for me (and Ibaku) if from your location, your new 5m setup can receive Intelsat 802 at 33 East. Try this TP: 11589 H 8681, 3/4. I believe that this may be possible if you can receive Hortbird and Astra2D. Please confirm.

@George_D,
Thank You for your advice.

@Ibaku,
The position 33 degrees East is shared by two satellites namely Eurobird 3 and Intelsat 802. Check: _http://www.lyngsat.com/33east.html_). Eurobird 3 beam (spot-C) is an off-print beam available only in Europe and to track it from Lagos would require a massive dish!! Say, 3-5 metre!! Try and let the forum know if you can. Maybe the only interesting channels here would be BBC-persian and VOA TV-persian on 12728 V 22000, FEC=1/2.

The Ku-band Spot1 beam for Intelsat 802 (Check: _http://www.lyngsat-maps.com/maps/intel802_spot1.html_) can be received well with a 60 - 90cm within the following countries around Eastern Africa: Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Southern Sudan, Ethiopia, Northern Zambia, Northern Malawi, Rwanda and Burundi, and Eastern Zaire. This beam has four FTA channels namely WBS-TV (Uganda), KBC (Kenya), K24 (Kenya) and TBN-Family TV (Kenya). (Check: _http://www.lyngsat.com/intel802.html_). There is also a Spot2 beam for Eastern Africa (Check:_http://www.lyngsat-maps.com/maps/intel802_spot2.html_) which is now active. I have performed a blind-scan on it severally but no new TPs for this beam tracked yet.

To track this satellite (i.e., Spot1 beam) from Lagos, one would require a massive pan dish of between 8ft – 12ft !! (or better). Try 12ft and let us know if you succeed. In addition, there is another C-band beam for west Africa (Check: _http://www.lyngsat-maps.com/maps/intel802_swzone.html_), but not sure whether it is active yet. Cheers.

@Pofolo,
As at last evening (1900Hrs GMT), the FTA channels had been scrambled, except the one channel on 12033V27490 !!
@Borderline,
The old W4 TPs are still in use. However, they seem to be testing/reorganizing / copying the W4 channels on new TPs in the W7.
Regarding your other question, Yes, the new Sub-Saharan beam is in operation and all the 6 TPs were active when I scanned them. That is, 11747H27500, 3/4; 11823H27500, 3/4; 11958V27500, 3/4; 11996V27500, 3/4; 12034V27500, 3/4; 12073V27500, 3/4